In this week's Take 5, it's Recommendation Week. We are focused on lots and lots of recs (or in real speak "recommendations"). We've got apps recommended by experts to help drive parent engagement, recs for pictures books in middle school, book recs, and a movie rec -- all for teachers. So settle in and get ready to jot down a few ideas. We are sure that one of these recs will resonate with you!

This year, things seem busy. Busier than ever (maybe I always say that?). The demands in the classroom are never ending and what the outside world asks of teachers and schools continues to grow. Let's be honest. This job could be easy if you phoned it in; but you don't, we don't, because you and me are the real deal -- we are educators who believe in our core that every student, every class, every minute counts. This pressure to do it all can cause teachers, to focus on what isn't working, to hone in on the problems, and approach burn out. Right when I am about to leap full force into what I think of as a "massive cavern of teacher stress," I take a moment to mindfully focus on the positives of the job; why it all matters. This mental checklist is literally part of my internal dialogue. It keeps burnout at bay. Trust me, if you don't have one -- you need one that's personal to your life and your teaching. ​So here's my Why I am Thankful to Be a Teacher Mental Checklist. I use it. Every Single. Day.

Last week I wrote about some big ideas that ran through my experience as an attendee at the Virginia Association of School Librarians (VaASL) Annual Conference. This week, in my Take5, I'm sharing some neat tools and a bunch of small, do-able (but high impact) ideas I gathered from 5 different VaASL conference sessions. I know there is at least one thing on this list that you will be able to incorporate into your library program today.

On November 2-4, the Virginia Association of School Librarians (VAASL) held its annual conference. It is a gathering of school librarians from across the state, full of learning sessions and meaningful conversations. In reflection, the sessions I attended had three themes running through them that became my major take-aways from the conference.

I strongly believe that these three big ideas can help all school librarians improve their teaching practice and in doing so, help improve the lives of the learners and teachers who visit their libraries to learn, read, dream, inquire, collaborate and create. I hope that if you missed the conference that this reflection post can help bring you up to speed. If you were able to attend the conference, I'd love to hear about your major take-aways.